Shoe



G. W. BLAIR SHOE Filed April 1, '1925 Patented Nov. 15, 1927.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE W. BLAIR, OF MISHAWAKA, INDIANA, ASSIGNOR TO MISHAWAKA RUBBER &VIOOLEN MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF MISHAWAKA, INDIANA, A CORPORATION OFINDIANA.

SHOE.

Application filed April 1, 1925.

My invention has reference more particularly to the manner of buildingthe soles onto the shoe and fastening the parts of the sole together andonto the shoe.

In the manufacture of shoes, it is a comnoon practice to last the loweredge of the assembled upper to an inner sole and then attach the outersole thereto. The soles are made up in various ways and numerous methodshave been employed for assembling and fastening the parts together. TheGoodyear welt system is the one which is probably best known andconsists in fastening Welt strips around the edge of the assembled upperand inner sole and then stitching the outer sole to the edge of the weltstrip. Middle soles have also been used and stitched or otherwisefastened to the assembled upper and inner sole and the outer solestitched to the edge of the middle sole. with these constructions,however, theouter sole and the upper are separately fastened to the weltstrip or middle sole along spaced lines. Thus the upper portion of thesole and the outer sole are not rigidly connected but may pull away fromone another somewhat, depending upon the stiffness of the part of themiddle sole or welt strip between the two lines of fastenings, and thisis objectionable, as it permits excessive strains on the welt strip ormiddle sole and on the stitches or other fastenings. Moi-ever, all thewear and tear is imposed on these separate lines of fastenings and ifthey give way, there is nothing to hold the disconnected portionstogether. lVith my invention, an extra line of lock stitching is appliedentirely through the inner, middle and outer soles and the inturned edgeof the upper, so that all the parts are drawn tight together and theexcessive strain on the other lines of fastenings is thereby relieved.The upper is more securely fastened to the sole and the parts of thesole are clamped together so as to avoid lateral working of the parts ofthe sole, and the shearing action which is one of the most seriousdrawbacks in attaching the soles to a shoe by stitching. Furthermore, inshoes having the soles made of rub-V her or rubber composition, suchmaterial does not afford a positive material for holding the stitches asdoes the leather, and the present invention is adapted for attachingsoles of composition.

particularly well Serial No. 19,770.

The principal objects of my invention are to firmly fasten the shoe soleto the upper and likewise firmly fasten together the various layers ofmaterial composing the shoe sole; to reinforce and relieve the strain onthe fastenings which connect the middle sole respectively to the outersole and the upper; to avoid any slipping action between the variouslayers of the sole at the points of connection; to provide an improvedmiddle sole; to employ a lock stitch wherein the interengaged portionsof the upper and lower threads are embedded in the shoe sole; and ingeneral, to provide a shoe construction which is more substantial anddurable than in shoes which have heretofore been provided.

On the drawings: f

. Fig. 1 is a side view of a shoe embodying my improvements, with aportion of the toe broken away to show the adjoining portions of theshoe sole in section;

Fig. 2 an enlarged bottom view of the forward part of the shoe sole,with a portion of the outer sole removed to disclose details ofconstruction; and

Fig. 3 an enlarged sectional view, taken along the line of stitcheswhich pass through the entire sole.

Referring to the drawings which show, for the purpose of illustration, acommon type of mens shoe, the reference numeral 1 indicates the upper, 2the inner sole, 3 the middle sole and 4. the outer sole. The inner sole2, which is preferably of leather, is placed on the last in the usualmanner, and has the edge of the upper and the edge of the lining 5, aswell, in cases where alining is employed, drawn over the edge of theinner sole 2, substantially as shown at 6 in Fig. 1, and fastened to it.A filling? of any suitable material such as cork frag ments, is placedon the inner sole 2 in the space surrounded by the inturned edge 6 ofthe upper so as to fill in to the level of the inturned edge of theupper, and after cementing the bottom of the shoe, the middle sole 3 isthen laid over the bottom of the shoe and attached to the shoe bystitching with lock stitch to the inner sole as indicated atv 8, saidstitches being passed through the inturned edge 6 of the upper as shownin Fig. l.

The outer sole 4 is then placed in position after cementing both thesurface of the middle sole and the surface of the outer sole andGoodyear stitched to the outer edge of the middle sole 3 as indicated at9, thereby securing the outer sole-in place against the middle sole 3.

With a construction such as I have just described, the middle soleserves as an intermediate member to which the upper portion of the shoeis attached and to which the outer sole is attached, and if either lineof stitclr ing loosens up .or is not perfectly tight, relative movementof the several parts of the sole and upper takes place and the stitchesare likelyto be broken or sheared.

This is particularly true of the portion of the sole directly under theinstep at the point where the sole is arched, as the bending of the shoein walking imposes an excessive slipping strain on the layers of thesole at this point.

To overcome the slipping tendency of the layers of the sole and tofrictionally clamp the entire series of layers tight together, and alsoto furnish an additional fastening so that the stitches 8 and 9 are notrequired to bear the entire strain, I employ a third line of stitches10, which are at the inside of the lines of stitches 8 and passedentirely through the outer, middle and inner soles and also through theinturned edge 6 of the upper as well. These stitches are drawn up tight,so as to clamp the various layers of the sol-e and the inturned edge ofthe upper in close frictional contact and any separating tendency whichwould ordinarily occur between the inner sole 2, and the outer sole & isthereby obviated and the effectiveness of the stitching 8 and 9 therebymaterially increased.

The stitching 10 consists of a lock stitch comprising separate inner andouter threads 11 and 12 respectively, which have interengaging loopedportions, and the point of interengagement is located well within orembedded in the shoe sole as indicated, for example, at 13, so that theinterlocked portions are thoroughly concealed and protected againstdamage.

In practice, when an outer sole of rubber composition is employed, alayer of fabric l lyis vulcanized to the top surface of the outer sole tso as to reinforce the composition and prevent stretching or bulging ofthe sole 4:, and in thefinish'ed shoe an insole 15 is cemented to theinner surface of the inner sole 2 and extends over and covers thestitches 8 and 10.

Inthe shoe which-is illustrated herein, the middle sole 3 is of aspecial construction, shown in detail in Fig. 3 and comprises a thinsheet of leather reinforcing material 16. which is vulcanized betweentwo thin layers 17 and 18 of rubber composition. This form of middlesole need not necessarily be employed, but is desirable, as it serves towaterproof the sole and. being extremely flexible, does not stiffen thesole materially and this is important in heavy shoes, as the solesthereof are usually uncomfortably stiff.

The middle sole with leather center, in

this prevents stretching out of the rubber composition, and'the middlesole is caused to maintain its original form.

The outer sole 4 may be'of any suitable material, as for example, eitherleather or rubber composition, the latter being particularly desirablein heavy shoes because of its wearing properties and also because it is,

more flexible than leather and makes a'more comfortable shoe.

This method of construction gives the outer sole two distinct andindependent lock stitch scams for attaching it to the shoe.

The outer seam holds it securely to the middie sole and prevents itopening on the edge and admitting moisture, while the inner seai'nattaches the outer sol-e not only to the middle sole, but also to thelasted upper and the inner sole. This bonds all layers of the shoetogether so tightly that there is no lateral motion between them whenflexed, consequently the stitches do not out off. The middle sole beingattached to the shoe through the lasted upper and inner soleby anintegral set of stitch-es, is protected at all times from outside wearand will not come loose from the shoe. In case the outer sole in wear isworn thin at the toe or on the edges thereby destroying the holdingeffect of the outer scam. the sole cannot become detached from the shoebecause th.ein ner seam is set back far enough from the edge so thatitstill holds the outer sole tightly to the shoe.

While I have shown and described my venti'on in a preferred form, I amaware that various changes and modifications maybe made withoutdeparting from the principles of my inventionthe scope of which is to bedetermined by the appended claims.

I claim as my invention: 1

1. In a shoe the combination of inner and till Ill)

outer soles and an intermediate sole, separate fastenings connecting theinner and through and connecting the inner and outer" soles and saidintermediate sole.

2. In a shoe the combination of inner and outer soles and anintermediate sole, an upper having the lower edge turned in under themarginal portion of the inner sole, separate fastenings connecting theinner sole and inturned edge of the upper to the intermediate sole andthe outer sole to said intermediate sole, and a continuous line ofstitches around the toe, ball and shank portions and extending throughand connecting the inner and outer soles and the intermediate sole.

3. In a shoe the combination of inner, outer and middle soles and anupper having the lower edge thereof turned in between the marginalportions of the inner and middle soles, laterally spaced rows offastening means extending respectively through the middle and innersoles and the inturned edge of the upper, and through the middle andouter soles, and a continuous line of stitches around the toe, ball andshank portions and extending through and uniting the inner, middle andouter soles and the inturned edge of the upper.

i. In a shoe, the combination of inner, middle and outer soles and anupper having the lower edge thereof turned in between the marginalportions of the inner and middle soles, and three laterally spaced linesof stitches wherein the outer line of stitches connects the middle andouter soles, and the middle line of stitches connects the inner andmiddle soles and the inturned edge of r the upper and the inner line ofstitches connects the inner and middle and outer soles and the inturnededge of the upper.

5. In a shoe the combination of inner and middle soles, an upper havingthe lower edge thereof turned in between the mar ginal portions of theinner and middle soles, fastening means uniting the inner and middlesoles and the inturned edge of the upper, an outer sole covering saidfastening means and having a row of stitches adjacent the edge wherebyit is secured to the edge of the middle sole, and. a line of stitchesremote from said row of stitches and engaging through the inner, middleand outer soles and the inturned edge of the upper and comprising upperand lower threads having corresponding loops interengaged within theassembled sole structure.

6. In a shoe, the combination of inner and outer soles, and a middlesole interposed between and independently stitched respectively to theinner and outer soles, said middle sole being formed with a layer ofreinforcing material interposed between and united to outer layers ofrubber composition so that the layer of reinforcing material serves asan anchorage for the stitches.

7. In a shoe, the combination of inner and outer soles, a sheet ofleather interposed between the inner and outer soles and having a facingor rubber thereon at each side consolidated therewith and interposedrespectively between the inner sole and the sheet of leather and theouter sole and the sheet of leather, and two spaced lines of stitchesengaging respectively with the inner sole and the outer sole and havingtheir inner extremities looped through the sheet of leather.

8. The art of manufacturing a shoe which comprises fastening the edge ofthe upper between an inner sole and a middle sole, then stitching anouter sole to the edge of said middle sole, and then applying acontinuous line of stitches around the toe, ball and shank portions ofthe shoe and through the inner and outer soles and the said middle sole.

9. The art of manufacturing a shoe, which comprises fastening the edgeof the upper between marginal portions of inner and middle soles, thenstitching an outer sole to the edge of the middle sole and then applyinga continuous line of stitches around the shoe continuing along the toe,

ball and shank portions thereof and through the inner, middle and outersoles and the edge of the upper.

10. The art of manufacturing a shoe, which comprises interposing theedge portion of the upper between an inner and a middle sole,simultaneously stitching said edge portion to theinner and middle soles,then stitching an outer sole to the edge of the middle sole, and thenapplying an inner line of stitches through the inner, middle and outersoles and the edge of the upper and interlocking the upper and lowerthreads thereof substantially midway be tween the upper and lowersurfaces of the entire sole.

11. In a shoe the combination of inner and outer soles and anintermediate layer, separate fastenings connecting the inner and outersoles to said layer and a continuous line of lock stitches around thetoe, ball and shank portions and extending through and connecting theinner and outer soles and said intermediate layer, the interengaged loopportions of said lock stitches engaging against the lower face of saidintermediate layer.

12. In a shoe the, combination of inner and outer soles, a middle .soleinterposed between and independently fastened respectively to the innerand outer soles, said middle sole being formed with a layer ofreinforcing material interposed between and united to outer layers ofrubber composition, and a continuous line of lock stitches around thetoe, ball and shank portions and extending through and connecting theinner and outer soles and said middle sole, interengaged loop portionsof said lock stitches engaging against the lower face of said middlesole.

13. In a shoe, the combination of inner and outer soles and a middlesole interposed between the inner and outer soles, said middle solebeing formed With a layer of rein- 5 forcing material interposed betweenand united to outer layers of rubber composition, and laterally spacedlines of stitches engaging respectively with the inner sole and theouter sole and having their inner extremities looped through the sheetof reinforcing material so that the layer of re inforeing materialserves as an anchorage for the stitches.

' GEORGE WV. BLAIR.

